


That's The Thing About Pain...

by Oreocat155338



Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, Fix-It, Fluff, Founders Era, Gen, Izuna is the center of everything, M/M, MadiTobi, Soulmate AU, for Madara at least
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-12
Updated: 2018-02-12
Packaged: 2019-03-17 10:20:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13656996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oreocat155338/pseuds/Oreocat155338
Summary: It demands to be felt.Or Senju Tobirama and Uchiha Madara have felt each other's pain their whole lives...





	That's The Thing About Pain...

All his life, Senju Tobirama has felt it. A pain in his soul - an anger that cannot - will not - be tamed.

  
But it is not his.

.  
His is a fury - at the adults, incapable of following a treaty of their own creation. At the Uchiha, for the deaths of Itama and Kawarama.

  
But it **obeys** him. It **does not** control him.

  
It **will never** control him.

  
And so he searches for his 'soulmate'. The one his soul is connected to.

  
If whomever it is does not get control of their anger it will control them.

  
***

  
The fury is something Uchiha Madara recognizes, and at the same time he does not. It is like the anger he holds so close- yet, at the same time, is different.

  
Whoever it belongs to controls it. The fury doesn't own her.

  
Or him.

  
Madara would be fine either way, but as he was heir he would be expected to produce children.

  
So he began to keep an eye out for his soulmate.

  
Not actively searching, of course. He couldn't be seen actively searching, not when his father didn't believe in soulmates.

  
***

  
Tobirama had found a book on soulmates in the library, and had checked it out under his brother's name - claiming Hashirama had sent him to look for a book on the topic.

  
No one thought to question him any further.

  
And, as he began to read, the small wounds that he had felt up and down his arm began to make sense.

  
... But according to the book that meant that their bond was stronger than most.

  
He pondered breaking a finger to test the theory - but decided against it. He didn't know where his 'soulmate' was, and so there was no way to test the theory for certain.

  
So he kept training, keeping his fathers eye on him while Hashirama slipped out of the compound. He trained and trained until exhaustion had settled in his bones like an old friend.

  
***

  
The first time his soulmate got a concussion, Madara felt it. Every single effect and he hated every second of it.

  
Especially hiding it from his family.

  
At least he didn't have to hide anything from Hashirama - who understood wanting peace just as badly as he did - not even a concussion from his soulmate.

  
Hashirama had been concerned, but nothing more had come of it - Madara's soulmate needed to be treated before the effects on Madara would wear off.

  
The next day he was fine.

  
***

  
When Tobirama was ordered to follow Hashirama when he snuck out of the compound, he obeyed without hesitation.

  
When he was ordered to lead his father to his brother and his new friend, Tobirama obeyed.

  
And as the Uchiha his brother met with fled he felt a bone-deep fear and - at the same time, a reluctance to flee.

  
It was a incident that he took note of, but nothing more came of it until years later.

  
***

  
Madara had learned from the concussion that any pain his soulmate felt, he felt.

  
He had spoken with one of the elders who called for peace, and had learned it also went the other way. The pain he felt was also felt by his soulmate.

  
And so after a battle with the Senju, he was holed up with the healer after a burst of Mokoton had hit him on the battlefield.

  
Not that he blamed Hashirama. The Uchiha had been winning and the Senju had no other choice than to retreat and delaying their persuers with Mokoton had been a brilliant strategy.

  
As he was healed, a thought hit him.

  
This sort of pain - the placement and opening of the wound, specifically - were familiar.

  
Whoever his soulmate was, appearently (s)he had fought Hashirama before.

  
***

  
When the pain had hit Tobirama, he had looked back at the Uchiha - he was familiar with the pain caused by this particular move of his brothers - and his red eyes darted across the battlefield and-

  
There were only a handful of Uchiha that had been hit (his brother still foolishly - or perhaps not truly foolish at this point, not with his soul connected to a Uchiha - clung to the hope that Uchiha Madara would walk the path of peace with him), but there was another emotion under the pain.

  
He stumbled into the compound, ignoring everyone in favor of shooting to his room, where he could sit down and figure out what the emotion was.

  
If he could figure it out he might figure out whose soul his soul was connected to.

  
***

  
Senju Tobirama understood what it was like to lose brothers.

  
So when the time came, he used Hiraishin. He prepared to use his sword - to kill Uchiha Izuna - but-

  
This is not what Hashirama would want. He could still feel all to well that untamable - the uncontrollable - anger.

  
His soulmate would not be able to make it through this in one piece. Hashirama would survive losing him better than Madara would if he lost Izuna.

  
So, rather than letting muscle memory move his hand - rather than stabbing Izuna - he paused.

  
Just-

 

 

Long-

 

 

  
Enough.

  
***

  
Fighting Hashirama, Madara falters as he feels pain.

  
He stumbles, and Hashirama doesn't take advantage of it, instead his eyes dart across the battlefield.

  
They both see it at the same time. The surprise on Izuna's face as Senju Tobirama lay on the ground-

  
The gaping wound in the Senju - the placement matching where Madara's pain was.

  
Realization hits Madara, and - at the same time as Hashirama - calls for a retreat.

  
He spends quite some time in the healers - who try everything they know to lessen the pain - but none of it works. It's not that they're inexperienced in soulmate pain but-

  
Appearently the bond between Senju Tobirama and himself was stronger than any they had found before.

  
He orders terms for a ceasefire drawn up, and he speaks with Izuna - Izuna, who felt guilty for striking down Madara's soulmate on a battlefield where it was one of them or the other.

  
A soulmate who's identity he hadn't even known. Who didn't know who he was.

  
Except, Madara finds out, that's not true. There is no other explanation for Tobirama being in the perfect position to kill his brother and then - just not doing so. A simple flick of his wrist and rather than Izuna watching as his brother possibly died, Madara would be watching Izuna die.

  
Or perhaps even burying him.

  
***

  
When the pain stopped Uchiha Madara had been glad. It wasn't for a few minutes that he realized the pain being gone could mean one of few things.

  
The first was the miraculus recovery of his soulmate - of Senju Tobirama.

  
The second - which was, as much as Madara loathed to admit it - was the death of his soulmate.

  
And while Madara desperately hopes for the former he knows the latter is more likely.

  
***

  
When he had allowed Uchiha Izuna to stab him, rather than stabbing the Uchiha himself, Tobirama had never expected to wake up.

  
But then, his brother had always been full of surprises.

  
"What of the Uchiha?" He asked the crowd above him, and his brother froze.

  
"What??" He asked.

  
"Tell me, brother." He said. "I remember the battle as well as you do."

 

  
_The pain had been unexpected in it's severity. Uchiha Izuna hadn't held back. Surprise registered in his eyes and Tobirama felt his body his the ground._

  
_He heard his brother scream his name. Heard the call on both sides for a retreat_.

  
"I - The Uchiha are willing to consider a ceasefire." Hashirama admitted. "Though - I mean, it's just-"

  
"Shouldn't you be happy?" Tobirama muttered.

  
"Well - what changed their minds?" Hashirama asked, eyes looking tired and full of worry."I mean, Izuna nearly killed you - what if this is a ruse? What - what if next time we can't save you in time?"

  
"Accept the ceasefire, Hashirama." Tobirama sighed. "I'll be going with you."

  
"But Tobi-" Hashirama started.

  
"No, I need to be there in case someone launches a surprise attack on the ceasefire meeting." Tobirama said.

  
***

  
When the Uchiha arrived to negotiate the ceasefire, they learned that the Senju were already there.

  
They entered wearily - Izuna behind Madara who would do what he could to help Izuna escape should the Senju demand his head - and when they entered the living room-

  
There sat Senju Tobirama.

  
"Wha-?" Izuna asked, surprised. "How?"

  
"My brother is quite an accomplished healer." The Senju said, a smirk on his face. "It is good to see my brother didn't snap and kill you during the retreat."

  
"It is... Good to see that my brother didn't actually kill you." Madara admitted. "I can't believe it - after all this time I finally figure it out and it's because of Izuna."

**Author's Note:**

> Extra long to make up for the super short thing that I posted (it's also Star Wars but shhhhh)
> 
> Also, for another thing I'm working on, if you chose to comment, chose one of the following:  
> Burn  
> Bury  
> Leave to Rot


End file.
